Ryan Theriot and the Cubs Come to Bat for Wildlife Impacted by the Oil Spill

Even as the impact of the Gulf oil spill continues to be felt across communities and ecosystems, the Chicago Cubs, led by Louisiana-native Ryan Theriot, stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park this past July.

Tuesday, July 20th was a special day at Wrigley Field. Cubs infielder Theriot (since traded to the Los Angeles Dogers) and his teammates had worked hard to have more than 1,000 baseballs ready for fans when they arrived at the gates for the game against the Houston Astros.

Each ball had a different signature from a current or past Chicago Cub, and each was placed in a paper bag, making the signature a mystery.

But there was no mystery about the important work each $20 purchase would support.

Theriot couldn’t have been happier with the support of wildlife and communities of his native Louisiana in this way.

“I’m extremely grateful to everyone for contributing to this great cause. I believe strongly in the work that NWF is doing in the Gulf to support the wildlife and communities in my home state of Louisiana.”

On September 1, representatives of the National Wildlife Federation will be at Wrigley Field to accept this generous donation of $22,000 from Chicago Cubs Charities. We look forward to seeing many NWF supporters and fans in the stands before the start of the afternoon game with the Pittsburgh Pirates.